ENID, OK - Bob Klemme was a historical icon in Enid, Oklahoma. You could count on him to know the local history of the area. Klemme passed away this week at the age of 93.
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Robert Lee Klemme was born on a farm in Tillman County near Hollister, Oklahoma on December 15, 1925 and lived in Caddo County until August 1934, when his family moved to Enid. He attended Enid schools and graduated from Enid High School in 1943. He immediately joined the military and served 2 ½ years in the US Navy as an aviation ordinanceman and aerial gunner instructor. Upon receiving his honorable discharge following WWII, he was employed as a draftsman and salesman for The Long Bell Lumber Company in Enid for fifteen years. Following his employment with Long Bell, he worked as an insurance adjuster for General Adjustment Bureau for the next nineteen years. He was then employed as an independent insurance agent for the next thirteen years until his retirement. He was a long-time member of Central Christian Church and the Sooner Sunday school Class.
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Prior to his retirement, Bob began his long-standing interest in the Chisholm Trail. In 1990, he began marking the exact path that the trail took across the state of Oklahoma. The trail was marked where it crossed each section line from Red River Station, Texas to Caldwell, Kansas. Bob spent countless hours constructing and setting over 400 concrete markers that each weighed approximately 200 pounds. The goal of the project was to create interest in this important trail and it was Bob’s dream that someday it will become a National Historic Trail. Bob served on the board of the Oklahoma Historical Society from 1992 until 2007.
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In addition to his activities on the Chisholm Trail, Bob was instrumental in moving the granite horse watering trough that is presently located at the corner of Maine and Grand. The trough was a gift to the city from the National Humane Alliance and put into place in 1910. The horse trough was originally placed 130 feet west of its current location until it was struck by an automobile. The impact toppled the trough into the street and plans were to destroy it until the DAR had it moved to Springs Park where it resided atop the kiddie wading pool. It remained there until Bob worked to have it moved to its present location in 1989.
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The World War I Doughboy Monument which is located just east of the Public Library at the corner of Grand and Maine was a gift to the city from the DAR in 1924. The bayonet on the monument had been broken by vandals many years ago so Bob had a new one forged. The monument was rededicated by the DAR in 1994 and three surviving WWI Veterans were in attendance.
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Bob remembered a time capsule in Government Springs Park and where it was buried. He built a monument to mark the spot. Going one step further he built his own time capsule and filled it with memorabilia to be opened in 2093. This time capsule can be found just west of Dillingham Gardens.
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As you travel about seven miles north out of Enid on US Highway 81, you will notice a small granite marker on the east side of the highway. Bob had the monument placed at this point, to mark the 36-30 north latitude, known as the Missouri Compromise Line. There was to be no slavery north of this line. In 1820, Missouri wanted to come into the Union as a slave state and was unable to do so because it is located north of this line. A compromise was made when Maine and Missouri became states at the same time. Missouri became a slave state and Maine, a free state. This line is also the south border of the Oklahoma panhandle.
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Bob was the driving force behind getting a US Postage stamp created and published commemorating the Run of 1893. With the help of Enid native Bert Mackie who was at that time serving on the board of Postal Governors, Bob was instrumental in making sure that local artist Harold Holden was the artist for the stamp. The stamp was dedicated on April 17, 1993 and Marvin Runyan, Postmaster General, was in attendance.
Bob also contacted the State Highway Department and convinced them that The Chisholm Trail should be marked and recognized on all of the official State of Oklahoma maps. This has helped drive tourism up and down the length of the trail.
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Having admired the cowboy silhouette installation just south of Caldwell, KS, Bob went to work in 1990 dealing with the city parks department in Enid, USA Metals, and Harold Holden to design and install 20 cattle, 20 cowboys, a chuck wagon, a team of mules and a lone Native American silhouette to commemorate the fact that the Chisholm Trail crossed nearby. The silhouettes serve as a welcome to Enid as travelers pass by on Owen K. Garriott.
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During the construction of the Garfield County Expo Center, Bob came up with the idea of installing a sixty-foot long by eight foot wide map of the Chisholm Trail that was inlaid in the flooring at the entry of the facility.
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Bob served on the board of the Oklahoma Historical Society from 1992 until 2007. As a part of his service on OHS, Bob’s pet project was the Centennial Farm and Ranch program that recognized farms that have been in the same family for over 100 years. When the project began there were only 32 farms in the program. To date, there are over 1,100 such farms and ranches recognized by the program.
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The Oklahoma Centennial Commission asked Bob and his friend Chris Jeffries of Duncan to mark the location where the Chisholm Trail crossed each highway from the Red River to Caldwell, KS. Usually, the trail crosses the highways in one place, but in Northern Oklahoma the trail meanders back and forth across highway 81 and each of these crossings were also marked. Twenty-two historic locations were also marked.
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Bob was the inspiration and consultant to a group of Altus businessmen that took on the task of marking the Great Western Trail across Oklahoma. That trail has now been marked from Brownsville, TX all the way through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, The Dakotas and Wyoming; it will soon be completed across Montana.
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Bob has given countless talks to civic groups, bus trips, walking tours, and classrooms around the state about the Chisholm Trail over the past twenty years. He also received numerous awards; Enid High School “Pride of the Plainsman”; Enid “Walk of Fame”; Oklahoma Heritage Association “Distinguished Service Award”; Salvation Army “Chisholm Trail Heritage Award”; “Head of the Class” National Cowboy Symposium; “Wrangler Award” Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum; “American Cowboy Culture Award” National Cowboy Symposium 2006; and the Oklahoma History Hall of Fame, 2007.
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A Celebration of Life service for Robert “Bob” Klemme will be 2PM, July 3, 2019, at Central Christion Church with Reverend Tom Stanley and Reverend Don Johnson officiating. Services are under the direction of Henninger~Hinson Funeral Home.
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Enid Historian, Bob Klemme, Dies At 93
Chisholm Trail historian Bob Klemme, a visionary, knew the importance of having tangible evidence of historical history in specific areas. He made Great Western Trail
metal molds for Altus business people to produce 7-foot concrete posts to set every six miles across Oklahoma. During the GWT era, 1874-1893, a buffalo hunter used the Great Western Trail name. In 1965, Texas Tech archivist and history instructor Jimmy M. Skaggs wrote the definitive study for the GWT, documented history for the path of the GWT. Bob knew history; Bob knew Skaggs’ definitive study. Two Altus men crossed the Red River and invited the Texas Vernon Rotary Club members to place GWT posts along the trail in Texas. From there, with the help of Rotarians, more than 250 GWT posts define the 2,000-mile trail. Bob worked to have both trails named as National Historic Trails. The study has been sent to Congress for approval for Chisholm Trail, but the National Park System recommended the name Western Trail for Great Western Trail. Thanks, Bob, for using the documented name GWT; that name will prevail when Congress votes if they see the GWT posts that Bob launched.